KOLLAM: A 27-year-old CRPF commando from Kerala died in flash flood in Bijapur village in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The deceased is Sooraj Ravindran, a resident of Sooranad South village in Kollam. Sooraj had been serving in the elite 210 COBRA commando battalion since 2015.
According to a CRPF spokesperson, the incident took place on Friday when the team including Sooraj was returning after a search operation in the Naxal-affected region. The incident took place in the Ventawagu river, around 7.30am. He was crossing the river with other four commandos when the water level in the river went up suddenly.
Sooraj was caught in the currents and drowned. The other four commandos were rescued and admitted to the government hospital at Chhattisgarh. Later, a search operation was conducted by the district administration officials, and the body was recovered by 3.20pm. Sooraj joined the Central Reserve Police Force as a constable in 2015. His father the late Ravindran V had also served in the CRPF.
The body of Sooraj will be brought to Kerala on Saturday after completing post-mortem examination. An official guard of honour will be conducted at the CRPF camp at Pallipuram, before taking the body to his native village. He leaves behind mother and two brothers.